


I'll Take You Home

by IWillAlwaysFindYou



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Genderbending, Minor Violence, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-19 18:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWillAlwaysFindYou/pseuds/IWillAlwaysFindYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"That rescue mission was a complete disaster.<br/>With another swing of her sword, the Princess killed yet another soldier, then took a quick second to look all around her. The battle was at its peak, the Queen’s soldiers on one side, the Dwarves and the other volunteers on the other, trying to hold off the attackers. Red, Hook… check. Emma… right there. A sword nearly got her on her left side. She turned around, quickly, and took her assaulter down. Granny… right there, with her crossbow. So far, so good. Kinda.  It seemed they were almost done with the soldiers, and still all alive and fighting."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rescue Mission

**Author's Note:**

  * For [minis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minis/gifts).



> Here you go, Scooch! You're really making me do this, huh?!  
> Love you, Snow.

 

**Part I**

**Rescue Mission**

 

 

That rescue mission was a complete disaster.

With another swing of her sword, the Princess killed yet another soldier, then took a quick second to look all around her. The battle was at its peak, the Queen’s soldiers on one side, the Dwarves and the other volunteers on the other, trying to hold off the attackers. _Red, Hook… check. Emma… right there._ A sword nearly got her on her left side. She turned around, quickly, and took her assaulter down. _Granny… right there, with her crossbow. So far, so good. Kinda._ It seemed they were almost done with the soldiers, and still all alive and fighting.

‘We’ve got to finish them quickly! We can’t be wasting any more time!’, The Princess said.

Almost as the Queen herself had heard her, a new hoard of soldiers joined the battle, and the little group had to start all over again.

                                                                                              

* * *

 

_17 minutes before._

The plan was simple: infiltrate the Queen’s castle, locate the hostage, save the hostage, get the hell out of there. Possibly without anyone notice you. The actual execution of said plan, however, was something else entirely.

The Princess went over said plan once more, for everyone to hear and get ready, insisting on stealth and sneakiness, which were absolutely vital. They’d start their mission in a matter of minutes. After wishing everybody good luck and thanking them for their help, Charming put the small fire off, and the whole group took off to approach the castle.

As they all walked, trying to make as little noise as possible, the Princess really thought of what she was about to do. She had waited for so long – too long. She was going to get her love back, at last. It had been 3 weeks, now, since Snow had been taken by the Queen. Her Snow. Who knows what she had been doing to her, hell, she didn’t even know why she took her in the first place. Probably it was just her umpteenth attempt at harming their peace and love. One thing she did know, though: she was going to save her, get her back to her. She had waited long enough, already. 

_Wait for me, Snow._

The group halted when they reached the limit of the forest and bushes, right in front of the entrance of the castle. Yes, they were going to get in from the main entrance – a little straight forward, probably, but there was no point in searching for a secondary entrance, there was none. Plus, apparently there were no guards guarding the huge gate. _Weird… or maybe Fate is with us on this._

One small gesture of her hand is all it took the group to move: one after the other, they hurried, silent and black like shadows. Then, the Princess proceeded to open the gates slightly, only to peek inside and verify nobody was around. She gave the signal, and they were all in. Just as their plan expected, they split into 4 smaller groups and went ahead into the dark, big room to manage to locate Snow more quickly.

Red smelled it and Charming sensed it. An arrow struck right past her and pierced the wood of the gates. It was a matter of seconds, and all 12 friends were ushered back into one group in the middle of the room, surrounded by what dangerously seemed like 30 or 40 soldiers.

Yep, that was a straight on ambush, right from the beginning. Yep, they were in some serious trouble.

It took nothing more than a split second to the group to start the fight, and in a matter of a few minutes, the first bodies were laying on the floor. _We either finish this off quickly, or we’re done for._

‘We’ve got to finish them quickly! We can’t be wasting any more time!’, The Princess said.

But maybe Fate was everywhere but with them, afterall, and the second hoard of soldiers approached the group of friends.

The Princess swung her sword, ducked an arrow, grabbed an arm and hit a face. Again and again, the whole group of rescuers hit, and dodged, and killed. After what seemed like hours, they managed to take out most of the soldiers, so that only a handful or two were left standing. The problem was that they were all exhausted, though, and could only hope to finish off the remaining enemies, get Snow, and get out. One more pack of soldiers and they would be done.

Red, already into her wolf form, quickly jumped and mauled into an enemy’s throat. Right after that, an arrow hit a second soldier, piercing his chest from side to side. _Nice hit, Granny!_ It was then that the 12 friends heard a loud, laughing voice, and everyone just stopped fighting.

‘Oh, my, you fought well!’

‘Regina, give us Snow and we’re out of here!’, responded Charming quickly, recognizing the taunting voice.

‘Oh, so _that’s_ why you paid me this nice, little visit, now! You know what? I’m feeling particularly generous, today, so I guess I’ll accomodate your request. You want Snow White? She’s all yours! Ahahah!’

That was the most orrendous, disturbing laugh Charming ever had the misfortune to hear, and she was already about to question the Queen’s words, when something caught her attention. Right on top of the stairs, a few feet before the Princess and her group, stood Snow. Charming was far from relaxed and her bewilderment never left her, but her Snow was finally standing in front of her, seemingly unharmed, waiting only for her to get her out of that nightmare.

Charming extended her arm and moved a couple of steps in Snow’s direction, while the latter walked towards her as well. They met in the middle, then, after a quick smile, all 13 friends made a beeline for the exit, not wasting a single more second in that horrible place.

Once they were in the trees and bushes again, breathing in fresh air, only then did they stop and focus fully on Snow. Charming never let go of her arm during the short walk to the woods, and now she was standing right in front of Snow. She let her hand slide on her love’s arm, her shoulder, fixing it on the side of her neck.

‘It’s so good to see you again, my love! How are you feeling? Are you okay?’

To Charming’s relief, Snow smiled and nodded, getting in closer to her. The Princess immersed herself in her girl’s eyes, swimming in that serenity, shutting down a little voice in her head. What she didn’t see was Snow’s right hand, nor the sparkle of the blade it was holding. She was still lost in her eyes, when she felt the discomfort, which quickly turned into pain. Lots of it. Charming gasped, pulling herself to the blade even more, her right hand now grabbing Snow’s shoulder, holding onto her, trying to realise what had just happened. It took her a couple more seconds and a scream from Emma to get back to herself. She was bleeding from her stomach. Snow stabbed her.

As much as Charming wanted to keep Snow close and tried to hold onto her, she was slowly backing away. Charming screamed when Snow retracted the blade, then felt two or three pairs of arms holding her, stopping her from holding onto Snow’s arm, to keep her close, to keep her safe. She was now two full steps away, just staring back at her, a blank look in her eyes. It was like she wasn’t even there.

Then they all heard it. That awful laugh again. God, she knew she couldn’t trust that evil Queen, she knew it was too easy to be good, but… What else was she supposed to do? She found her, like she always does, and that was good enough for her.

‘Ahahah! Try again, _Princess_! Maybe next time you’ll be less stupid. Oh, wait, there won’t be a next time!’ the voice echoed.

Charming was now kneeling on the ground, unable to speak, panting. An arm extended towards Snow, a vain, desperate attempt to reach her. Then she started walking away from them, walking away from _her._

‘No… NO!’, she screamed. She tried to get back up, moved a single, uncertain step towards her back, but too many strong hands were holding her back.

‘NO! Let me go! I gotta go to her! I have to help her! SNOW!’.

Charming screamed and struggled and called out her lover’s name. She ignored the pain, held back the tears, until it was just too much. She let all those arms move her onto her back, on the ground, gradually taking in the voices, as well.

‘I gotta go, she needs me…’

‘You can’t, you’re hurt, you need to take it easy, now!’ someone said.

‘Please, I need to help her, please…’

‘You want to help her? Try surviving this wound, first! You would be of no help at all, in this conditions!’

 And everything fell back into place. The pain, the tears, her friends – everything fell back into perspective, everything felt so real again. Charming put her right hand on her wound, feeling the blood come out copiously. She felt dizzy, she felt tired. As three different people started tending to her wound, she could do nothing but pant and groan, letting the pain and the reality of what happened sink in.

Then, it was a lullaby of ‘Snow’s and ‘No’s and ‘Please’s, and she gave up to the darkness that engulfed her in a heartbeat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this :) I am still not sure where this is heading, but hopefully I'll manage to finish this little project of mine. I already have a couple chapters ready, so we'll see if I can post regularly.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes: as much as I proof-read and triple-check, I'm still italian and English is not my first language.
> 
> Any comment and/or review is well accepted, thank you in advance to anyone who decides to leave one!
> 
> I'll see you next chapter!
> 
>  
> 
> -IWillAlwaysFindYou


	2. Retreat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's chapter 2! Hope you like it!

**Part II**

**Retreat**

 

_She was in a clearing in the middle of the woods. The grass wavered in the light breeze. A small river flowed slowly. The sun was warm, but not too hot. Birds singing was all she could hear, while lying on the grass._

_She lifted herself on her elbows to see who was approaching her, and smiled as she caught sight of Snow._

_‘Hey there, Charms!’, Snow said smiling._

_‘Hey there, beautiful!’. Snow was close enough, now, for the Princess to stretch a hand out and grab her wrist, pulling her down on the grass with her. Charming guided her to lie down and then moved on her, blocking her arms on either side of her head. Without a single word, they kissed, and it was sweet and tender; they were happy, they were together, and that’s all that mattered._

_Suddenly, a loud, thunder-like noise made Charming turn around. When she turned back to Snow, she wasn’t there anymore, she was standing next to her head instead, watching her from above. Charming tried to ask her what happened, but her blood curdled at the blank stare Snow was giving her back. She couldn’t let a single word out, caught off guard by a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down and was horrified to find nothing but blood everywhere._

_Snow wasn’t with her anymore, she was left to her own pain and horror and started screaming for help, yelling Snow’s name, too bewildered to understand what was going on._

Charming jerked out of her nightmare, finding herself panting, sweating and shaking. Moments later, she regretted that sudden movement, and was forced to lie back down in pain. Two people hurried to her side, talking to her.

‘Hey, hey, take it easy. How are you feeling?’. It was Emma, the Princess realised after a few seconds.

‘Uhm… What happened? Where are we?’, she managed to say hoarsely.

‘We’re still in the forest, we moved further from the castle and Doc, here, stitched you up. You need rest, though, before you heal completely.’, Emma answered calmly.

Charming nodded, distractedly, then suddenly remembered.

‘Snow?’, she asked, eyes wide open in worry.

‘Yeah… She… The Queen has her. After she did what she did, she just walked back to the castle.’

‘Oh, no, no, no, we need to get back, I need to save her, we have to g-‘, the Princess tried to say, but all she got in return was several pairs of tired eyes.

‘And we will get to her, when the right moment comes. Right now, you’re not fit for such a feat, you need to rest and heal. Only then you’ll be of some help to Snow.’

Charming hated how coherent and right Red was, hated that _that_ was the best thing she could do at the moment. She hated that she had to leave Snow behind and wait more. All she wanted to do was crawl into her lover’s arms and fall asleep, knowing they were both safe. But, since that was not possible, she reluctantly agreed that they were to suspend their mission, for the moment. The little resolve she still had to continue was wiped out when she realised how tired everybody was. Only because they all chose and volunteered to follow her in that crazy mission, didn’t mean they were unstoppable. They were all fatigued and needed – not to mention _deserved_ – some rest. She couldn’t just drag them everywhere all the time.

‘Fine. We will wait here for a day or two, until I am fit to walk, and then we’ll go back to our castle. I’ll do some research and try to figure out what to do in order to bring her back. But as soon as I’m fit enough to fight, I will get in there and get Snow back, if it’s the last thing I do.’

She said that last sentence more to herself than to anybody else.

Everybody looked relieved and satisfied with that plan, and they visibly relaxed. They were going home.

 

* * *

 

Pain. ‘No…’

A hole in her chest. ‘God, no…’

Darkness, all around her, crawling up inside her. Tears.

She could _feel_ her heart turning black, not even a distant, vague recollection of the purity it used to have.

Snow was crying, mumbling a few words in the darkness of that cell, her head in her hands. Ever since the spell wore off, she fell into that deep state of pain. _What have I done… What have I done._ She was there the whole time, watching her own body move, walk, smile, stab. She tried to stop, every single fiber of her being was screaming, trying to warn her lover, to tell her to get away. She tried so hard she almost thought she could make it. _I should have tried harder. I should have saved her_.

‘Charming…’, and yet more crying. _I am so sorry, how could I do this, I can’t believe-_ ‘God, no, please…’

The mere notion of Charming being gone was unbearable. The knowledge that she was the one who killed her… Well, that was going to drive her insane.

The monotone of her crying and ‘No’s was interrupted by the one being she wanted to see the least in the whole world.

‘Come on, now, still crying?’. That odious, taunting tone. God, she hated it.

‘It’s not the end of the world, dear!’. She was going to strangle her with her own bare hands.

‘Well, I mean, you did kill the love of your life, but come on, there’s worse things that can happ-‘

‘Regina! You stop talking and get me out of here right now, or I swear, God, I swear I’m gonna kill you myself.’ Snow found herself absolutely unable to hold back any longer, and dashed to the bars of the cell. Her eyes were burning with anger, her whole demeanor said her threat was not just big talk.

‘Oh, my! What is that I hear - anger? Hatred, perhaps? I guess your heart is really that black, now, isn’t it? Splendid!’, the Queen said, then letting her head fall backwards in an amused laugh.

Snow suddenly shifted, feeling uncomfortable. _She’s right… I am bad, I am evil._ Her anger was now only a mere memory, as it was replaced by deep sadness.

‘Just let me go. You achieved what you wanted, I’m done for, you don’t need me anymore. Let me go.’ Her voice was flat and resigned, her gaze digging a hole in the ground.

‘Oh, my dear, if you only knew! I can assure you, I am so not done with you!’, and with that, she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

Snow was alone again. Alone with her darkness. Alone with her sadness. She sat in a corner, tucking her knees in, and stared at nothing for eternity.

 

* * *

 

That rest day went by uneventful. First off, Charming asked Red to scout the area to see and smell if there was anyone around. When they were sure to be safe, at least for the moment, they all arranged a nice camp to spend the several hours slightly more comfortably. The dwarves offered to go look for food, Emma and Hook went to gather some wood, and Red and Granny stayed with Charming at the base.

The Princess kept to herself, more than she usually did, too caught up in her thoughts. She could see, however, that the so needed rest was being effective: everybody was gradually more active and awake, the conversation would be held up longer, and the overall morale was higher.

Yet, something was bugging Charming inside. She failed her mission, she couldn’t save Snow. She just hoped her lover was fine and could hold on a little longer. _Wait for me, my love._ The renewed strive to get to Snow as soon as possible was what made her make up her mind that one day of break was more than enough. She felt only slightly better, really, but Hook and Emma could take turns helping her walk, if needed. Plus, she would have gotten plenty of time to rest and heal up, once at the castle, while doing research.

‘Alright, everybody,’ she spoke up, ‘we’re moving. Hook, please help me stand.’

It took the two of them a couple of attempts, before they managed to synchronize and could coordinate their movements while marching, but they got it done. If anybody was uncertain about the Princess’s decision to move, they didn’t let it on.

Two days of strict march later, the 12 friends were back at the castle. Charming and Hook were leading the way, so she could see the disappointment and puzzlement in the eyes of all the people that gathered to welcome the group – and Snow – back. Once everybody noticed Charming’s blood-soaked shirt and her pale, weakened figure held by Hook, they guessed what must have happened and acquired a sad, pitiful look. Charming sighed and did what she knew she had to.

‘Hi, everybody. As you can see, Snow is not with us. Unfortunately, the Queen played me and despite our efforts, we weren’t able to complete our mission.’ A chorus of concerned exclamations was raised by the crowd, ‘But! But as soon as I’ll feel stronger, I will go back and save Snow White, just like I promised her. Please, everybody, help each other so we can work towards this common end. We need to be strong and stick together now more than ever. We _will_ get her back.’ The look in everybody’s eyes was more determined already. That short speech worked.

‘Hook, thank you for your assistance. Could you please help me get in the library? That’ll be my last request, for you, I’m sorry!’, Charming asked, smiling.

‘No problem, mate!’, was Hook’s quick response.

Two floors and many stairs later, Hook left Charming in the huge library. She thanked him, then took a second to look around her in silence before choosing and opening the first book.

_I have no time to waste._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for taking the time to read this!  
> See you next chapter.
> 
> -IWillAlwaysFindYou

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this :) I am still not sure where this is heading, but hopefully I'll manage to finish this little project of mine. I already have a couple chapters ready, so we'll see if I can post regularly.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes: as much as I proof-read and triple-check, I'm still italian and English is not my first language. 
> 
> Any comment and/or review is well accepted, thank you in advance to anyone who decides to leave one!  
> 
> 
> I'll see you next chapter!
> 
>   
> -IWillAlwaysFindYou


End file.
